My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

My Name is Memory
by Ann Brashares
Pub. Date: June 2010
Genre: Fiction
324pp

First Line:
"I have lived more than a thousand years."

Why I Picked It:
This is my current Book Club selection.

My Review:
I've ready many of Ann Brashare's previous novels - The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Last Summer (of You and Me).

Synopsis: Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. Daniel has "the memory", the ability to recall past lives and recognize souls of those he's previously known. It is a gift and a curse. For all the times that he and Sophia have been drawn together throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart. A love always too short.

You don't have to buy into the concept of reincarnation to enjoy this story. It's handled with approachability and a respect to the reader through Daniel, the main character, as he explains himself time and time again as he encounters "Sophia" in each life.

This is quite a departure from her other books, but not at all in a bad way.... until the ending. I listened to this as an audiobook, and was totally enthralled by the story. The jumping through time, the different reincarnations of each character, were very easy to follow. The conflict with other revengeful characters who also reincarnated through time was suspenseful and had me very anxious. Then, just when you are about to sigh in utter contentment at a perfectly wrapped up conclusion, UGH!!

I was so disappointed. I am still so disappointed. Was even more disappointed to get to book club and find that no one else had time to finish it so I couldn't even discuss it. Great story, but lazy ending.